Lee vows zero compromise on workplace safety in Labor Day address

▲ President Lee Jae Myung delivers an address at an event commemorating Labor Day at Cheong Wa Dae on May 1, 2026. (Yonhap)

▲ President Lee Jae Myung (C) attends an event commemorating Labor Day at Cheong Wa Dae on May 1, 2026. (Yonhap)

Lee-Labor Day address

Lee vows zero compromise on workplace safety in Labor Day address

SEOUL, May 1 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung on Friday pledged unwavering commitment to workplace safety in his address to mark Labor Day at Cheong Wa Dae.

"I will neither compromise nor make concessions on workplace safety," he said, vowing to build a "normal" country where no worker ever has to risk their life at work.

"Safeguarding workers is the most basic responsibility of any nation and any business," he said.

The president also pushed back against the notion that worker welfare and business growth are incompatible, stressing the two are mutually dependent.

"We can only move forward by breaking free from the outdated thinking that being pro-business means being anti-worker," he said. "Growth has a future only when labor stands behind it" he said.

It marked the first time a Labor Day event has been held at Cheong Wa Dae. The event brought together some 130 participants, including key figures from labor, management and government, as well as workers from diverse occupations, to mark the occasion.

South Korea had initially observed Labor Day on May 1 before it was renamed "Workers' Day" in 1963. The government restored the name to Labor Day last year and designated it as a national holiday earlier this year, allowing all workers to take the day off.

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